trees

The winter cold inspires folks to spend more time indoors, but there's still a lot going on outside. On this edition of Up to Date, Steve Kraske talks with an urban forester about protecting trees during the winter. Then, we discuss one organization's partnership with Kansas City, Mo. to build and use trails in area parks which leads us to explore the city's process in joining with outside organizations. Plus, a look at how business landscaping can protect birds of prey.

Trees have lives, but even as long as those lives can be, trees do die. When a tree's condition threatens structures and utility lines, property owners come face to face with the inevitable. On this edition of Up to Date, one such owner tells the tale of a tremendous silver maple that once shaded his backyard. Joining the conversation is a spokesperson for KCP&L with steps utilities take to keep power lines clear and safe.

The tree and shrub population in the Kansas City metropolitan area saves residents nearly $14 million a year, according to a new study.

The United States Department of Agriculture's Northern Research Station (NRS) examined plant life in nine counties in the Kansas City metro area.

The NRS found that by blocking winds in the winter, shading buildings in the summer, and providing natural evaporative cooling all throughout the year, trees and shrubs significantly cut down residential energy costs.

Spring is the season of possibility and hope. Just ask any gardener. Seeds go in the ground, are lovingly tended and then . . . Mother Nature steps in. On Wednesday's Up to Date, Steve Kraske talks with two experts to get some advice for your gardens and trees.

Once upon a time, among the iconic scenes of the West were mountains covered with green, fragrant pine trees. Nowadays, you’re more likely to see entire forests of brown. That’s because since 1997 more than 41.7 million acres have suffered partial or total death of conifer trees.

A virus has been ravaging roses around the Kansas City area, according to a recent news report. The disease, rose rosette, has been around for decades but has become more of a problem lately, agriculture officials in Johnson and Jackson recently told the Kansas City Star.

If you spent some time outside in the Brookside or Waldo area of town this weekend, chances are you saw people planting trees. They are trying to replace thousands of trees that are disappearing from our neighborhoods.